Reading Escapades & Math Explorershttps://read2day.com
by Christine AllenMon, 10 Dec 2018 17:55:14 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.8A Very Merry Christmas Timehttps://read2day.com/a-very-merry-christmas-time/
https://read2day.com/a-very-merry-christmas-time/#respondWed, 05 Dec 2018 19:05:28 +0000https://read2day.com/?p=1472The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear! – Buddy the Elf Christmas! The very word holds so much meaning for so many people. Christmas time is full of memories, hot chocolate, carolers, family, movies, and cozy socks. It is the time of year that children, and some adults,…

]]>The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear! – Buddy the Elf

Christmas! The very word holds so much meaning for so many people. Christmas time is full of memories, hot chocolate, carolers, family, movies, and cozy socks. It is the time of year that children, and some adults, spend all year waiting for and dreaming about. However, it is easy to get caught up in all of the shopping, parties, and business that spending time with those closest to us gets forgotten. Christmas break is the perfect time to plan some family events since the kids are out of school for a little bit. Here are a few ideas to get you thinking about how you can plan to spend quality time with your children this Christmas.

Go out and enjoy the holiday lights!

My family has a tradition of driving to a few key places near us that have streets filled with Christmas lights. We have done it as long as I can remember. One year there was a route in the newspaper that we took and we ended up driving around for over two hours! That was a long time to be in the car so we decided the next year that we were just going to stick to our favorites. We turn on the Christmas music in our car and just enjoy riding around and looking at the sights. Maybe your house is on one of those streets. Have your kids come out and help you set up some magical decorations for your family and others to enjoy.

Watch Christmas movies

This could possibly already be a tradition that your family has. There are ways to spice up this tradition though. Have each member of your family pick their favorite holiday movie. Or it doesn’t even have to be a Christmas movie. There are some good new movies coming out over this Christmas season. Spread the movies out over a week or more. Make a new special snack to eat while you watch the movie. It’s a great way to get the whole family involved even if the movie is more geared toward younger children.

Bake Christmas cookies

I love Christmas cookies. Pretty much every single kind. It fact the more kinds the better! But the fact is, we really should not be eating all of the Christmas cookies we make. Christmas is more than just focusing on just yourself. Most of us have been blessed and this is a great time of year to give to others as well. Find a local charity, children’s home, or nursing home where you can donate your cookies and know for sure that they will be immensely enjoyed. Kids love helping others, and seeing the joy that simply sharing with others brings will speak volumes.

Make a new Christmas ornament each year

This is a great way to get ornaments for your tree. I always think that trees that have a lot of different and unique ornaments on them are so special. It’s kind of like they are sharing a special story. Your families story. And there are literally so many different kinds that you will never have repeats. There are gingerbread, salted dough, straw, popcorn, crochet, and cinnamon stick ornaments. And those are just a few. Bring out your crafty side and make a memory with your children.

Christmas book unwrapping

This is an idea that I just came across and I love it! You wrap up 25 days, or however many days you want to do it, worth of books. These could be old books or new books or a mixture. Then each day you unwrap one and read it together as a family. This is a great way to read through old books that maybe haven’t been seen in a while or brand new books that you just bought. It is also exciting since it is wrapped and your children don’t know what book it is.

]]>https://read2day.com/a-very-merry-christmas-time/feed/0I’m so Glad that I Live in a World Where There are Octobershttps://read2day.com/im-so-glad-that-i-live-in-a-world-where-there-are-octobers/
https://read2day.com/im-so-glad-that-i-live-in-a-world-where-there-are-octobers/#respondSun, 28 Oct 2018 19:07:00 +0000https://read2day.com/?p=1451Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree. – Emily Bronte There is just something about brisk Fall air, pumpkins, apple cider, and the smell of a warm cinnamon candle burning in a warm clean kitchen that gives me the coziest feeling ever. Not to mention that I am always cold so…

There is just something about brisk Fall air, pumpkins, apple cider, and the smell of a warm cinnamon candle burning in a warm clean kitchen that gives me the coziest feeling ever. Not to mention that I am always cold so it gives me a chance to bundle up in sweaters and blankets to my hearts content. Fall also is a time when my family likes to do a lot of outdoor activities. Yea, watching a movie together is great or spending lots of money on something that will only last for a little while, but the best times that I remember are those where we just went out and spent time together. There are so many ideas out there on Pinterest and just the internet in general that are inexpensive and yet the memory of them last a lifetime. Here are a few ideas that I love!

Go for a hike and look for different kinds of leaves

I could spend hours looking at the beautiful color of trees and just relaxing. And Pennsylvania is a perfect area to do this in! There are so many trails to go on depending on how easy or difficult you think you and your family can handle. The crunch of leaves beneath my feet is something that there is no other comparison for. But you can also make this activity educational. Collect leaves from different kinds of trees and compare and contrast them. You could compare leaves from different trees or contrast leaves that have only partially changed with ones that have fully changed. Stick the leaves to pages and put them in a scrapbook to enjoy them all year long. My family also loves spending time raking up the leaves in our yard together. This has two purposes. First, we get all of the leaves raked up which has to be done no matter what. Second, we love trying to make the biggest pile possible and then all of us getting to jump in them and hear that wonderful crunching sound. There is so much beauty out there, so go out and enjoy it.

Go apple picking

This is such a great activity because it is fun, educational, and the money that you spend on the apples is worth it because you get to eat them! Even though apple picking is working, somehow when you are doing it with other people it seems like fun instead. A way to bring apples into education would be to teach about Johnny Appleseed. I can still remember learning about him when I was in elementary school and then going home and planting the apple seeds that I got in school hoping that they would grow into an apple tree. It seemed very possible in my young mind, but then I had forgotten about it by the next week so it was not devastating when it did not actually grow. My family also loves apples, so spending money on them was not an extravagant cost. We liked to make a special apple dip to go with our freshly picked apples and I still remember how good it was till this day, even though I haven’t had it in a long time. And talking about it is making me really want some… excuse me while I go whip some of that up right now… ok I’m back. Another thing we like to do with our apples was make them into applesauce, apple pie, and my personal favorite apple butter. There are so many great and easy recipes out there!

Collect pine cones and display them

I have also done this one. One year I was part of a home school group and our “assignment” for October was to make something that was fallish. I went out and got some pine cones and spray painted them gold and silver. Then I put them in a glass display vase with some colored balls. The end product turned out beautifully! And my mom still puts it out on our kitchen table every year. I am not a very artsy or designy person, so it was always a big deal to me that I made something that is pretty and that other people comment about when they come over. There are lots of other things that can be done with pine cones too. Pinterest is full of great ideas that range from very easy pine cone crafts to more complex decorations. I would personally love to make a pine cone wreath and some Christmas ornaments sometime soon. All of these are ways to help your children grow their creativity and artistic flare. One important thing to remember is that your child did put effort into creating something themselves. So be proud of them and show off their work. You will be boosting their confidence when you do.

Go Fly a Kite

This is something I have not done in years. When we were growing up we always got kites during the summer when we went to the beach. We would just fly them for that week that we were at the beach and then we would bring them home and generally not fly them the rest of the summer. But then when fall came we would always get them back out because there were those perfect blustery days that froze our fingers, but also made for great flying weather. It was always a hassle getting our kites out of our garage because the lines were tangled and rods that were supposed to be in the kite were never in the kite. My dad would always come out and help us get them together and then we would spend time together outside trying to see who could get theirs the highest. I always wanted to make a kite, like they did in Mary Poppins, but I never have. Pinterest has so many different kinds of kites that you could make with your kids. I found ones that just have a simple shape and others that have amazing looking designs. And one of the best things about making your own kite is that it just uses common household items. You can use newspapers, trash bags, paper plates, or paper lunch bags. Add to that the designs you could put on the kite and you have a fun filled afternoon being creative.

Find a good book to read together

A great way to spend time as a family together is to read. It could be a book that you read out loud to your kids for half an hour to an hour a day or each child could have a different book that they read on their own and then you all come back together as a family to talk about the different books. Reading is so important for kids of all ages! We have created many book discussion packets for your family to use as a help for deeper reading. Book discussions include pre-reading information, question cards, and a comprehension and vocabulary test with an answer key. Some of the books that we have created book discussions for are Goldie by Ellen Miles, The Hidden Stairs and the Magic Carpet by Tony Abbott, and Chocolate Fever by Robert Smith. Check out our shop at https://read2day.com/ to see all of our products.

Most of all just go out and have fun spending quality time with your family.

]]>https://read2day.com/im-so-glad-that-i-live-in-a-world-where-there-are-octobers/feed/0The Puppy Place: Goldie Book Discussionhttps://read2day.com/the-puppy-place-goldie-book-discussion/
https://read2day.com/the-puppy-place-goldie-book-discussion/#respondMon, 30 Jul 2018 15:27:24 +0000https://read2day.com/?p=1283Book discussions are a great way to get readers thinking about what they are reading. Reading can certainly be for enjoyment, but it is also a tool to help us become better people. While comprehension tests are a quick way to see if the reader can pick up random facts from what they read, TALKING…

Book discussions are a great way to get readers thinking about what they are reading. Reading can certainly be for enjoyment, but it is also a tool to help us become better people. While comprehension tests are a quick way to see if the reader can pick up random facts from what they read, TALKING about a book and thinking what it MEANS helps people to start to critically think about what is going on around them. Although I feel book discussions are some of the most important “projects” you can do with students, few people like to do them. However, they can be FUN and EASY if you use the steps found in our book discussion packet.

This Packet Includes:

This book discussion packet will guide you through hosting a book discussion in your classroom, home school or youth group or within your family.

]]>https://read2day.com/the-puppy-place-goldie-book-discussion/feed/0Fish Unit Studyhttps://read2day.com/fish-unit-study/
https://read2day.com/fish-unit-study/#respondFri, 08 Jun 2018 16:43:14 +0000https://read2day.com/?p=1181A Fishy Tale Unit Study Are you a parent or teacher looking to engage your child in fun learning activities? We have all been there, we get frustrated and want to throw in the towel. What if you could breathe new life into your family or classroom’s day? Here at Reading Escapades we have been…

Are you a parent or teacher looking to engage your child in fun learning activities? We have all been there, we get frustrated and want to throw in the towel. What if you could breathe new life into your family or classroom’s day? Here at Reading Escapades we have been educating students for eighteen years and have created thematic units based on our children’s interests. This 25 page ocean animal unit study includes reading, math, science, creative writing, and handwriting activities. A Fishy Tale is perfect for multi age classrooms or homeschooling families.

A Fishy Tale contains:

Video and print instructions

master supply list

recommended book list

5 focus words

3 active reading games including bingo cards to print

1 creative writing activity (a favorite in here in the office!)

several levels of writing practice

Measuring activities

2 icy science experiments

2 crafty art projects

1 oceanography project

Check out our Fish unit lesson in action:

Reading Activities:

This unit includes a set of focus words, reading games and writing activities. The reading games in A Fishy Tale includes memory, hide and seek, and bingo to practice the thematic focus words. Different than your typical sight words, these words that will excite your child. Included in this packet are handwriting sheets that let them trace the letters for each set of focus words as well as an activity to hep make a grocery list, sentence writing, and tracing.

Math and Science Activities:

Math and science go hand in hand, so we use them together to grab your child’s attention. One of our favorite science activities is our Fish Buoyancy lesson. Another interactive lesson shows how arctic animals stay warm. For math, we are measuring sharks and comparing them.

Creative Arts Activities:

We have learned that children need to express themselves creatively. For this reason, each thematic unit includes Creative Arts activities. These activities include art, music, and dramatic play. In this lesson, you can make a cut out coral reef. Another activity includes directions to make a diorama of a coral reef. In addition there are directions to make tidal pool at home. With this project, you can talk about thing that thrive in this environment. These creative arts activities will keep your child entertained and learning for hours.

History and Geography Activities:

In this lesson we use common household items to demonstrate the varying layers of the ocean waters.

Fish Photo Gallery:

]]>https://read2day.com/fish-unit-study/feed/0Vegetable Unit Studyhttps://read2day.com/vegetable-unit-study/
https://read2day.com/vegetable-unit-study/#respondFri, 08 Jun 2018 16:01:11 +0000https://read2day.com/?p=1162Vegetable Unit Study Are you a parent or teacher looking to engage your child in fun learning activities? We have all been there, we get frustrated and want to throw in the towel. What if you could breathe new life into your family or classroom’s day? Here at Reading Escapades we have been educating students…

Are you a parent or teacher looking to engage your child in fun learning activities? We have all been there, we get frustrated and want to throw in the towel. What if you could breathe new life into your family or classroom’s day? Here at Reading Escapades we have been educating students for eighteen years and have created thematic units based on our children’s interests. This 34 page Vegetable Unit Study, includes reading, math, science, creative writing, and handwriting activities. It is perfect for multi age classrooms or homeschooling families.

Included in your lesson packet:

Video and print instructions

master supply list

recommended book list

5 focus words

3 active reading games including domino cards to print

2 creative writing activities

several levels of writing practice

Money activities

5 science experiments, including 2 easy and 2 more complicated ones

2 crafty art projects

1 vegetables around the world activity

Check out our Exploring Vegetables unit lesson in action:

Reading Activities:

Each thematic unit includes a set of focus words, reading games and writing activities. In our Vegetable unit, children can practice reading by playing memory, hide and seek, and dominos. These are different than your typical sight words, rather they are words that will excite your child. Our focus words for this unit are: carrots, corn, eggplant, asparagus, tomato. Included in this packet are handwriting sheets that let them trace the letters for each set of focus words as well as an activity to hep make a grocery list, Sentence Writing, Tracing

Math and Science Activities:

Since math and science go hand in hand, we have these lessons together. In this part of the unit, we have lessons that:

grow lettuce seeds

extract pigments from vegetables using chromatography

determine the acid and bases of foods

show capillary action using a celery soak up water

Creative Arts Activities:

We have learned that children need to express themselves creatively. For this reason, each thematic unit includes Creative Arts activities. These activities include art, music, and dramatic play. Here we have you make vegetable stamps and we go over some favorite vegetable songs with hand motions. These creative arts activities will keep your child entertained and learning for hours.

History and Geography Activities:

Here we go over vegetables from all over the world and what their nutritional value is.

Ready to have fun with your kids?

Click here to purchase this unit and our other fun, educational packets!

]]>https://read2day.com/vegetable-unit-study/feed/0Amelia Earhart Unit Studyhttps://read2day.com/amelia-earhart-unit-study/
https://read2day.com/amelia-earhart-unit-study/#respondFri, 08 Jun 2018 15:27:37 +0000https://read2day.com/?p=1155Amelia Earhart Are you a parent or teacher looking to engage your child in fun learning activities? We have all been there, we get frustrated and want to throw in the towel. What if you could breathe new life into your family’s day? Here at Reading Escapades we have been homeschooling for eighteen years and…

Are you a parent or teacher looking to engage your child in fun learning activities? We have all been there, we get frustrated and want to throw in the towel. What if you could breathe new life into your family’s day? Here at Reading Escapades we have been homeschooling for eighteen years and have created thematic units based on our children’s interests. This 36 page unit include reading, math, science, creative writing, and handwriting activities. It is perfect for multi age classrooms or homeschooling families.

Included in your lesson packet:

Video and print instructions

master supply list

recommended book list

5 focus words

3 active reading games

2 creative writing activity

several levels of writing practice

1 data-driven math activity

1 map creating geography activity

several history and biography activities

3 science experiments

2 crafty art projects

Check out our Amelia Earhart unit lesson in action:

Reading Activities:

Each thematic unit includes a set of focus words, reading games and writing activities. In our Amelia Earhart unit your child can play memory, hide and seek, and dominoes to practice the thematic focus words. These are different than your typical sight words, but rather words that will excite your child. Our focus words for this unit are: heroine, pilot, airplane, navigation, legend. Included in this packet are writing sheets that have them going over if they were Amelia Earhart and going over a travel guide that they make.

Math and Science Activities:

Since math and science go hand in hand we have these lessons together. In this part of the unit we have lessons that flight plan data that you can analyze with your child. We go over the difference in helicopter pilot balance and airplane pilot balance. There is a self-propelled plane that you can make as well as an air-pressure experiment.

Creative Arts Activities:

We have learned that children need to express themselves creatively. For this reason, each thematic unit includes Creative Arts activities. These activities include art, music, and dramatic play. In this part of the unit we have you making planes out of legos and paper. These creative arts activities will keep your child entertained and learning for hours.

History and Geography Activities:

This is where you really learn about Amelia Earhart and all that she did for flight. We have you mapping out her planned fight route and going over other famous plans.

]]>https://read2day.com/amelia-earhart-unit-study/feed/0A Book Discussion on Jedi Quest: The Way of the Apprentice by Jude Watsonhttps://read2day.com/book-discussion-way-of-apprentice/
https://read2day.com/book-discussion-way-of-apprentice/#respondMon, 28 May 2018 17:02:06 +0000https://read2day.com/?p=1028Star Wars – Jedi Quest: The Way of the Apprentice by Jude Watson Using Star Wars books to engage students Students WANT to read books that are interesting to them. If you have a child or student who loves Star Wars as much as I do (and that’s A LOT!), using these books as an…

Using Star Wars books to engage students

Students WANT to read books that are interesting to them. If you have a child or student who loves Star Wars as much as I do (and that’s A LOT!), using these books as an initial book discussion always works well. They are geared to upper elementary to middle school students so there is a wide age range of students that would enjoy these books.

Jedi Quest: The Way of the Apprentice Summary

This book the original first book in the Jedi Quest series, which follows the story of Anakin Skywalk from the time he is 14 until he is 17 – the years between the Episode I and II in the movies. Through these books, the reader learns of the small events that eventually take Anakin from a sweet, little boy who helps everyone to the most feared villain in the Star Wars Universe. In this particular book, Anakin and Obi-Wan are joined with three other Knight/Padawan teams to go to a planet that is in the midst of a toxic environmental crisis. The Padawans, without their masters, must discover who is behind the crisis. However, there is tension between Anakin and Ferus. Can they put aside their differences in order to save the planet from invasion?

Why would you want to hold a book discussion?

A book discussion is a great way to help children develop literacy skills and to have an open forum for discussion of important issues. By reading in preparation for the discussion session, children will read more fluently and with expression. Through the discussion session, children will establish a deeper understanding of the text. Book discussions also help children practice turn-taking, and provide them with the opportunity to use a variety of language skills, and make predictions and solve problems.

How will our book discussion help you?

Our book discussion packets help you by having almost all that you need for the event. They include tips that Christine has learned over the decades that help you engage your child or students. It also includes vocabulary and questions to give to the reader prior to reading. Discussion questions are done in a card format so you can pick and choose what questions to use. However, Christine likes to put the cards in a bowl and let the readers pick! In addition, there is a short comprehension and vocabulary test along with answer keys.

]]>https://read2day.com/book-discussion-way-of-apprentice/feed/0Memorial Day Thematic Unithttps://read2day.com/memorial-day/
https://read2day.com/memorial-day/#respondFri, 25 May 2018 18:28:54 +0000https://read2day.com/?p=1062 Get this unit lesson HERE. This unit is to honor and celebrate those who have given the ultimate sacrifice. If you are a veteran or active member, we thank you for your service, and honor those of your friends who are not here to read this. We wanted to teach children about this…

This unit is to honor and celebrate those who have given the ultimate sacrifice. If you are a veteran or active member, we thank you for your service, and honor those of your friends who are not here to read this. We wanted to teach children about this most important holiday – it is WAY more than just a another day off of school. However, we wanted to do it in an age-appropriate way. We hope you love it as much as we loved putting it together for you! Regardless of whether you are a home school parent, a parent looking to enrich your child’s education, or a teacher looking for ways to engage struggling learners, we think you will really enjoy this

Our lessons are perfect for teaching multi-age or multi skill levels at one time. These units encompass math, reading, art, science, and social studies for children preschool through third grade.

Included in your lesson packet:

A Master Supply list for all of the activities in the packet.

Suggested Book List to accompany the activities.

Lesson Plans for each activity

Reading Activities:

Each thematic unit includes a set of focus words, reading games and writing activities. In our Memorial Day unit your child can play memory, hide and seek and water gun words to practice the thematic focus words. These are different than your typical sight words, but rather words that will excite your child. Our focus words for this unit are: flag, picnic, remember, family, honor. Included in this packet are handwriting sheets for each set of focus words. Also included in this unit, is a to write thank you letters to soldiers.

Math and Science Activities

One of our favorite science activity is our Patriotic Slime activity. With some borax and colors there are some many fun fill hours ahead. After you have made the slime, there are way to use it in math with our Slime Wreaths activity.

Creative Arts Activities

We have learned that children need to express themselves creatively. For this reason, each thematic unit includes Creative Arts activities. These activities include art, music, and dramatic play. In this lesson you can make Popsicle stick flag and stars, egg carton flags, and patriotic wreathes that can then be used in the slime wreaths activity. These creative arts activities will keep your child entertained and learning for hours.

Geography Activities

Since this lesson plan is on Memorial Day, we have you and your child going over the history of why we celebrate this holiday and when we started this tradition in the USA. There is also a lesson going over some monuments in the US.

Join us inside for fun and educational car themed activities and refreshments.

]]>https://read2day.com/meet-a-quarter-midget-driver/feed/0A Symphony of Fun Thematic Unithttps://read2day.com/symphony-of-fun/
https://read2day.com/symphony-of-fun/#respondTue, 24 Apr 2018 18:42:38 +0000https://read2day.com/?p=924New Featured Activity Packets! Are you a parent who desires to help your child learn while having fun yet it is sometimes difficult to engage your child in their lessons? We have all been there, we get frustrated and want to throw in the towel. What if you could breathe new life into your…

New Featured Activity Packets!

Are you a parent who desires to help your child learn while having fun yet it is sometimes difficult to engage your child in their lessons? We have all been there, we get frustrated and want to throw in the towel. What if you could breathe new life into your family’s educational time? Here at Reading Escapades we have been homeschooling our own children as well as teaching others for eighteen years and have created thematic activity units based on our children’s interests.

Maybe you are parent looking to enrich your child’s education. Or maybe you are a teacher looking for a way to engage struggling learners.

Our lessons are perfect for teaching multi-age or multi skill levels at one time. These units encompass math, reading, art, science, and social studies for children preschool through third grade.

Included in your lesson packet:

A Master Supply list for all the activities in the packet.

Suggested Book List to accompany the activities.

Lesson Plans for each activity

Check out our Symphony of Fun unit in action:

Reading Activities:

Each thematic unit includes a set of focus words, reading games and writing activities. In our Symphony of Fun unit your child can play memory, hide and seek and a beach ball game to practice the thematic focus words. These are different than your typical sight words, but rather words that will excite your child. Our focus words for this unit are: tube, maracas, pan flute, drum, guitar. Also, included in this packet are handwriting sheets for each of the focus words, creative writing, and writing a play.

Math and Science Activities

All good mathematicians excel at finding patterns, especially in numbers as well as in the world around them. In our Symphony of Fun unit you and your budding musician will look for finding patterns in the rhythm of music and clapping or dancing. In science, we will discover how sound waves travel.

Creative Arts Activities

We have learned that children need to express themselves creatively. For this reason, each thematic unit includes Creative Arts activities. These activities include art, music, and dramatic play. Symphony of Fun unit has your child designing their own paper plate tambourines, a cardboard roll didgeridoo, and plastic egg maracas. Also included are some songs and finger-plays. These creative arts activities will keep your child entertained and learning for hours.

Geography Activities

We try to incorporate as many disciplines as we can into each of our thematic units. In our Symphony of Fun unit we have included a music history activity that matches a short biography with a picture of the composer. For geography we have your musician mapping the origin of instruments.